Waggon Way

One of my earliest memories of Alloa is being taken along parts of this ancient route as a short cut. I remember thinking we had discovered some secret part of the town that no-one else but me and my mum knew about and this part, one of two tunnels left on the route, was certainly the most intriguing.

Used as a means of transporting coal from the local mines down to the River Forth and the Alloa harbour it pre-dates any railway and is still walkable in large chunks. In later years I used to walk our dog along this daily when I stayed nearby and realised today that it's probably ten years or so since I last visited. Back then it was sometimes an area that ne'er do wells and other less desirables would use to hide away and partake of various intoxicants, evidenced by collections of empty Tennent's Super cans and hypodermics.

I did earn myself a fat lip late one night after disturbing two men up to God-knows-what just inside this tunnel. A swift fist from nowhere caught me square in the chops as the two of them scarpered off and up a nearby staircase. My faithful dog Tara wagged her tail at them and wanted to play. No sympathy from Mrs Delphwynd either as she'd long warned me about heading down there at that time of night (this was after a night out and I had the alcohol induced bravery boost that meant that I believed I was immune to any danger)

The place is pretty well lit and it looks a lot tidier now. It's still used by dog walkers, cyclists and others too as a shortcut through and under the streets of the town. I'm not sure how long these types of places will survive as bit by bit they're enveloped and absorbed into new developments but it still felt like somewhere secret and undiscovered as I walked a section of it today.